Chapter 2:
Introduction to a New Home

	Walker led the two to a large room. It was far more spacious than the 
examination room. The only furniture here was some chairs and a large, round 
table. There were guards all about, some he recognized, and some he didn't. 
Seated at the table were three figures: a lynx, a jaguar, and a red fox. 
"Please," the lynx said. "Sit down. Get comfortable." Tobias sat down 
hesitantly. The lynx seemed friendly enough. "We are honored by your 
presence."
	Tobias nodded. "Please, don't be. I'm not that great."
	The lynx laughed. "Forgive me then." He sat back down. "Do you know 
why you are here, Tobias?"
	"No, I don't. Can you please tell me why?"
	"We're here to examine the results of those exams you took." He look 
at the fox, who nodded. "Until the tech gets here, you can feel free to ask 
us any questions you wish."
	"All right then. Let's start with the basics." He leaned forward. 
"I'd like to know your names."
	Again, the lynx looked at the fox. The fox nodded again. "You may 
call me Larcris," the lynx replied. "To my left...." He motioned towards the 
fox. "....Is my second in command Sven and to my right...." He motioned 
towards the jaguar. "....Is head of security, Agent 'J'."
	Tobias looked at the jaguar. "What does the 'J' stand for?"
	The jaguar put a massive robotic arm on the table. "That would be 
none of your business," he growled.
	"O.....kay." He turned to Sven. He noticed a scar running across his 
face. "Where did you get that scar Sven."
	Sven pointed at 'J'. "I got it from sparring with him," he said. 
Despite the name, there wasn't a hint of an accent in his voice.
	Suddenly, the door opened. Tobias could make out the silhouette of a
certain lab technician. She stepped up to the table. "Good afternoon 
gentlemen," she said. She looked at Tobias and smiled. He smiled back.
	"Well," Larcris said. "What do you have for us today Kaitlyn?"
	She went over to a small keyboard at one end of the table and started 
to enter information. Instantly, a holographic image of Tobias appeared, with 
lines pointing to various points on his body. "This is our subject. He is of 
the species homo sapien, a low tech species on planet Earth."
	"Speaking of which," he butted in. "How far away from Earth are 
we?"
	"Some 50 light years away," she replied. He shivered. "Continuing 
with what I was saying, they are a low tech species. How this one got all 
this way away from home is still a mystery. We have managed to observe the 
species, but have never been able to get a decent sample without running the 
risk of being detected on Earth. This is the first accurate record we have 
of this species.
	"However, our sample isn't in the best of physical conditions. He 
mentioned something about not wanting to be in peak condition, saying that 
with his species, the bigger the muscles, the smaller the mind. We cannot 
prove this, so we will have to go on his word.
	"Mentally, he's advanced. It is true he lacks some of the knowledge 
we take as basic, but his testimony tells us that the human race isn't that 
advanced. While very brilliant by his species standards, he is also 
emotionally unstable. Think of him as a powder keg. Anything can be the spark 
that sets him off. I advise that we have someone watch over him until he 
becomes less of a threat to everyone." She stood straight. "As the only
technician with the knowledge of why he is like this, I volunteer for this 
duty." She smiled at him.
	"Wait just a second!" Swift piped up. "How come you get to watch 
him?"
	Larcris looked at her. "Do you wish to watch over him?"
	"Yes I do."
	"Hold up!" Kaitlyn replied. "I outrank her by great leaps and 
bounds here. She can't just waltz on in here and take the job."
	"She does raise a valid point Swift."
	"But...."
	Tobias raised his hand, grabbing their attention. "If I may, sir, I 
think I might have a solution to this problem." They all looked at him. 
"They both seem ready to fight over who gets to watch me. And I'm sure 
they're both busy, so I say you let one of them baby-sit me during the day 
and the other take over during the afternoon."
	Kaitlyn nodded. "That sounds fair." Swift nodded her agreement.
	"Okay then," Larcris said. "I'll leave it to you three to decide 
what happens next. Good luck and welcome aboard Tobias." He got up and 
left. Sven and 'J' followed him out.
	"Great," Tobias said after they left. "So who want's what?"
	"I'd like to deal with you during the day," Kaitlyn said.
	"That's great," Swift responded. "Cause I was gonna ask to watch 
him during the evening hours."
	"Sounds okay with me," Tobias said. "So what do we do now?" His 
stomach growled. The ladies giggled a little. "Um, yeah.....where do 
they serve dinner here?"

	That night, Tobias managed to get a decent nights sleep. Well, it 
wasn't really decent, more of an uneasy sleep. Hell, wouldn't you sleep 
uneasy if you were surrounded by creatures that made RuPaul or Denis Rodman 
look normal? He also did something he rarely did when he was asleep. He 
dreamed. His inner most thoughts came out of the woodwork. The images would 
be burned into his memory forever.

	He was standing in a desert. It had everything you would find there, 
save life. An angry sun beat down on him. It didn't take him long to realize 
he was not alone. He noticed a large creature was running after him. It was a 
very gruesome thing to boot. It had more blades sticking out of it than one 
could imagine. He wasn't going to take any chances with that thing and 
started to run away. It looked like he was going to get away, but a rock 
suddenly appeared and tripped him. He crashed to the ground and the creature
loomed over him. It's fangs dripped with some god awful substance. It lunged 
at his throat.....

	A beam of light shot down at the creature. It howled and staggered 
back before literally shattering. He looked about for the source of the 
beam, but found nothing. Curiously, he approached the pile of critter. It 
wasn't a large mound, so he was able to sift through it pretty easily. All 
that he found, however, was a picture of himself. And if that weren't weird 
enough, the picture began to shift. It melted and morphed until it took a
new shape. It looked like a cross between him and his hosts. "What is this?"
he asked out loud. "Is...is this me?"

	Something shook him gently. "Wake up," a soft voice cooed. He swatted 
at the air, hoping to shoo whatever it was away. "Wake up Tobias. It's time to 
get up." He was forced to open his eyes. He looked up wearily and saw Kaitlyn. 
"Well it's about time," she said. "Good morning."
	He sat up and rubbed his head. "Thank god it wasn't all a dream."
	She sat down on the bed. "Well, that's the first time I've ever 
heard that one before."
	"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm being rude. How'd you sleep Kaitlyn?"
	"I slept well." She smirked. "Probably a lot better than you!"
	"What makes you say that?"
	"The guards told me you were tossing and turning all night. Do you 
usually do that?"
	"Not really. Just when I'm sick or I'm dreaming."
	She felt his forehead. "Well, you must have been dreaming then."
	He shook his head. "Real funny Kaity. What are we going to do?"
	"Well, today I was planning on taking you to our holo-library after 
breakfast so you can learn about our history. What do you think about that?"
	"Sounds great. Can I get dressed before we start out?"
	She got up. "Absolutely. I'll leave you be for that." She started for
the door. "I'll be just outside." She left him to his dressing.

	His quarters were in the same building as the two other rooms he'd 
been in, so actually going outside was a new experience for him. The base 
was more spacious than he was expecting. There was a full scale field, as 
well as small hill, sitting in the middle of the base. "Whoa, you people seem 
to like the nature thing," he commented.
	Kaitlyn giggled and grabbed his hand. "C'mon you," she said. "Let's 
go eat. We can admire everything later." Tobias laughed. He followed her to the 
mess hall.

	He was never one for breakfast. So he didn't put much onto his plate. 
Kaitlyn had taken him to a table to one side of the packed room, where he 
managed to get a good look around. He quickly realized that the table he was 
at was large. It could probably seat twenty or so people. But he and Kaitlyn 
were the only ones there. Everyone else packed around these small, four person 
tables. 'What's up with that?' he asked himself as he continued with his meal.

	It didn't take long before all the tables but his were filled. A 
young wolf, probably in his mid twenties, was looking about for a place to 
sit. Tobias could hear him muttering curses and what not under his breath. The 
wolf approached the table. "Do you two mind if I take a seat here?" he asked 
politely. Kaitlyn frowned and was ready to shoo him away. 
	"Go ahead," Tobias said before she could do anything. She looked at 
him. "Well, he was polite, wasn't he?" She shook her head and turned back to 
her meal.
	"Thank you," the newcomer said, putting his tray down and grabbing a 
seat.
	"No prob," Tobias replied. He extended a hand. "Name's Tobias."
	The wolf took his hand and shook it. "Crash. Pleasure to meet you. 
Aren't you supposed to be that superior being that's going to save us?"
	"That's what I'm being told. I don't believe it m'self."
	"Heh, that's the spirit." He took a sip of his coffee (or that what 
Tobias thought it was). "I've been here a year and haven't seen much action. I 
doubt I ever will."
	Tobias chuckled. "Well, it looks like I'll have to solve that problem 
for you, won't I Crash?"
	"That'd be nice. But don't drive yourself nuts because of it."
	Kaitlyn tugged on Tobias's shirt. "Um....I think it's time to go. 
They're expecting us in like....ten minutes."
	Tobias nodded. "All right." He turned picked up his tray. "See ya 
around base Crash. Take care." Kaitlyn grabbed his arm and dragged him away, 
leaving Crash to his breakfast.

	They jogged across the field to another building. This one was rather 
small but had a large domed roof. Seeing as he didn't know tail ends of this 
place, Tobias didn't argue with Kaitlyn when she opened the door. In the 
building, was loads of books. Rows upon rows upon rows of books lined the 
walls. He stood there in awe as Kaitlyn walked up to the counter where an 
attendant stood. "We need to use the A.R. Room," she told the attendant. He
looked at Tobias, who gave a pathetic little wave. "Right this way,"
he said.

	"This," Kaitlyn explained as they entered the room. "Is our holo-library. 
It contains all of our records, history, and various other libraries."
	Tobias chuckled nervously. "Cheery place you've got here. Kinda like 
the exam room."
	She chuckled. "Same design." She pointed over at a chair. "That's 
where you'll be sitting." He nodded and sat down. "Fix the helmet on your 
head so it's comfortable. I'll start everything up." He complied and relaxed 
in the chair. "Starting up the program!" She flipped a few switches and the 
machinery buzzed to life.

	One's senses can only tell you what they know. That was his theory 
was. You had your basic senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing), 
and then you had your unconventional senses, like everyone's sixth sense. 
He believed firmly in this theory. But this machine he was in was totally 
destroying it! It instantly flooded him with information, emmersing him in 
history. He saw everything, from their first combustion engines to their
first space flights, to their first wars. He also gained quite a bit of 
knowledge on the current conflict. It was overwhelming. He didn't know how 
much more he could learn.....

	"Time up," a voice chimed, snapping him back into reality.
	"Damn," he said. "You've got one hell of a history Kaitlyn." He took 
off the helmet and looked over at the door. Kaitlyn wasn't there. "Oh, I'm 
sorry. How ya doin' Swift?" 
	She smiled. "I'm doing fine. I see Kaitlyn was showin' you our 
history."
	"Yeah. Although my people could put your people to shame."
	She smiled. "I'm sure they can. Now, c'mon. We've got places to go." 
She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his seat.
	"Whoa, hold up. Where are we off to?"
	"We're going to meet a few friends of mine." Tobias didn't argue and 
was dragged along.

	The holo-library had taken it's toll on him. What seemed like a half 
an hour had actually been half a day. It was now sometime in the early 
afternoon. Swift dragged him across the base to a group of very small looking, 
very plain structures. "Swift," he asked. "Where are we?"
	She chuckled. "We're at the Barracks." He looked at the door of the 
building they were standing infront of. Hanging on it was small sign. In big, 
gold letters it announced the purpose of the building: "Barracks A."
	"Okay, so why are we here?"
	"We're here to meet some of my friends. Is that a problem?"
	"Absolutely not."
	She smiled. "Good." She dragged him up to the door an knocked.
	"Who's there?" a voice called from behind it.
	"It's Swift."
	"Hey Swift," the voice replied. "What's up?"
	"I've got someone I want you to meet. Can ya open up?" There was some
mumbling before the door slowly creaked open. She looked at Tobias, who only 
shrugged. "Good. Let's go." They both entered the small building.

	Tobias was stunned. He was face to face with a whole bunch of soldiers, 
ranging from hawks to cats to wolves. They were all staring at him. He raises 
an eyebrow. "Yeah Swift," he said, breaking the silence. "They're a really 
talkative group." She giggled. 
	"Why does that voice sound familiar?" a voice piped up from the back 
of the room.
	"Crash," she said. "Is that you?"
	"It ain't the pope." Swift smiled and grabbed Tobias's arm. She once 
again dragged him some distance to Crash. He smiled the second he saw Tobias. 
"So we meet again."
	Tobias smirked. "It appears it. How's your day been?"
	"Pretty uneventful."
	"Sounds like one of my good days."
	Crash chuckled. "I never would have thought you had a sense of 
humor."
	"Oh stop it! You're words are too kind," Tobias retorted with a 
sarcastic tone in his voice. Instantly, he was hoisted into the air by an 
arctic wolf. The wolf growled at him. "Um......oops?"
	"Psycho, put him down," Crash said.
	The wolf shrugged and put him back on his feet. "Sorry," he said. "I 
don't like it when people say things like that to Crash." He extended a hand. 
"I'm Psycho."
	Tobias took the hand and shook it. "Why do they call you that?"
	He smirked. "Because that's how I become when I get involved in 
combat. Especially hand-to-hand. You don't know how many people I've killed 
bare handed."
	Tobias ripped his hand from Psycho's. "O....kay...." He turned to Swift. 
"Anyone else?"
	"Actually," she said. "I just wanted to introduce you to Crash. But 
seeing as you've already met...."
	"Hold up," Crash interrupted. "Maybe he'd like to get to know some of 
my friends."
	Tobias smirked. "You mean there's more people like him?" He pointed at 
Psycho. "No offense, big guy."
	Psycho nodded. "None taken."
	"Not really," Crash replied. "They're all different." He got up from 
his bunk. "You wanna meet them?"
	Tobias shrugged. "I've nothing else to do."
	"Good. Let me introduce you around." He spent a half an hour 
introducing Tobias to all of the people there. "So that's basically it. You've 
met everyone except for three people."
	"And where are they?"
	"They're picking up supplies."
	Just then, the door burst open. "We got em!" a proud voice exclaimed. 
"We got the cards!" A jaguar walked in, holding a pack of playing cards in 
the air. "Poker night is still on!"
	Crash laughed and got up. "Tobias, this is Hack. He's our resident 
computer hacker and car thief. Hack, c'mere and meet the new guy."
	The panther came over and looked at Tobias. "Him?" he asked. Crash 
nodded. "Isn't he supposed to be the chosen one or something like that?"
	"That's what I heard."
	The panther looked at Tobias again and smirked. "A pleasure."
	Tobias nodded. "It's cool."
	"Where's Wrench and Bomber?" Crash asked.
	Hack sighed. "Bomber phased out again. Wrench is dragging him back. 
He should be here in three.....two.....one...."
	"God damn it Bomber!" another voice shouted. "Why the hell'd you have 
to do this to me?" A fox, wearing a dirty red jumpsuit entered, dragging a 
barely there rat in. "Crash, a little help here."
	Crash sighed. "Tobias, the fox is Wrench. His name should explain 
everything."
	"He's a mechanic?" Tobias asked.
	"Yeah. And the rat is Bomber."
	"Dare I ask...."
	"He always bombs out on us."
	"Ah."
	Crash went over to Bomber and slapped his face a little. "C'mon. Snap 
out of it you." Bomber did not respond. Crash grew a little impatient and 
whalloped the phased out rat. That got him back into reality. 
	"Hmmm? What?" the rat said. "What the hell happened?"
	Crash frowned. "You did it again."
	Swift chuckled. "I guess that concludes the tour." She grabbed Tobias's 
hand. "I've got one more thing to show you before we hit the mess hall for 
dinner." She pulled him towards the door.
	"Wait," Crash said. "Don't you wanna stay and play cards? We all play 
a mean Blackjack!"
	"Maybe next time," Tobias replied. "I don't think Swift's gonna say yes 
to that idea."
	"All right then! Next Thursday's our next game. You okay with that?"
	Swift gave one more tug. "It's okay!" Tobias said as he flew out of the 
barracks.

	She walked him over to a lonely looking tower. There, she opened a 
door. All that was in the tower was a staircase. "Going up?" Tobias asked. 
Swift nodded and started up. All he could do was follow. When they got to the 
top, they found a large weapons array set up. "Nice," Tobias said. "Pretty 
techy."
	"We're not done yet!" Swift chimed. She walked over to a lonely 
corner and opened a hatch.
	"You mean we're going ON the roof?" Tobias said. Swift nodded. "Well," 
Tobias mumbled. "You have to try everything once." He followed her out.

	"Wow," he said. "This is a great sunset." Tobias had found comfort in 
laying down on the roof, hands behind his head. Swift was laying down right 
next to him, watching him enjoy the brilliant sunset. "If I had known you 
were planning this," Tobias said. "I would have thanked you or something. But 
this.....this......wow!" 
	Swift giggled. "Not to well with words, are you?" she said. Tobias 
smiled. They both continued to watch the sun set.

	They climbed down and started towards the mess hall. On their way 
there, they ran into Kaitlyn. "So, how's everything?"
	"Everything's fine," Tobias said. "Met a lot of interesting people 
today."
	Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
	"Yeah. Swift here dragged me around and introduced me to some of her 
soldier friends." Swift smiled. "Although that Psycho character gives me the 
creeps."
	Kaitlyn laughed. "He does that to me too. I just manage a weak smile 
and a nod. That keeps him in check. Trust me."
	Tobias smirked. "Well, we're heading to the mess hall. Wanna join us?"
	"Sure." They all started towards the dining area. 
	Suddenly, Swift grabbed her head and fell to one knee. Tobias stopped 
and went over to help. "What's wrong?"
	"It's another headache. I've been getting these a lot lately. Don't 
worry though. They go away quickly."
	"You sure? I'm sure we can get ya something to ease the pain."
	"No, it's all right."
	"Okay....if you say so...." He helped her to her feet. "C'mon. Let's 
go eat. Maybe that's what's wrong." They continued on.

	He layed down in his bed, ready to fall into a deep sleep. But before 
he did, he decided to go over the day's events. "Well," he said to himself. 
"I'm pretty sure I know what's going on. I should hit the holo-library 
again just to make sure. And now I know I have friends in the military. So 
that's always good." He sighed. "So what's wrong?" He turned out the light, 
put his glasses on the endtable, and rested his head on his pillow. 
	'We'll be there soon,' a voice called out.
	He sat straight up. "Huh?" He looked around. Nothing. "Must be goin' 
nuts," he said as he layed back down.
	'We'll be there soon,' the voice said again, this time after he 
closed his eyes.
	Again, he sat straight up. This time, he recognized the voice. 
"Shivana?" he asked out loud. There was no answer. He shrugged and layed his 
head back down. He closed his eyes. Nothing. He got comfortable and started 
to drift off into a deep sleep. 
	'Soon.....'